Control apparatus



March 4 m ll INVENTORS Alexander Mali er G. Blzaul L. Mar-dis A. M WER ET AL CONTROL APPARATUS Filed June- 25 l|.l||||| lllll llll l I I l II WITNESSES:

TTOR'NEY Patented Mar. 4, 1924.

UNETED s'ra'rss 1,485,422 PATENT caries.-

ALEXANDER MGIVER, OF DEER LODGE, MONTANA, AND PAUL L. IVLARDIS, OF SWISS- VALE, PENNSYLVANIA, ASSIGNORS TO WESTINGHOUSE ELECTRIC AND 1F ANUFAC- TUBING COIJIPANY, A CORPORATION OF PENNSYLVANIA.

CONTROL APPARATUS.

Application filed June 25, 1920. Serial No. 391,647.

To all whom it may concern.

Be it known that we, ALEXANDER MoIvER, a citizen of the United States, and a resident of Deer Lodge, in the county of Powell and State of Montana, and PAUL L. 'MARDIs, a citizen of the United States, and a resident of Swissvale, in the county of Allegheny and State of Pennsylvania, have invented a new and useful Improvement in Control Apparatus, of which the following is a specification.

Our invention relates to control apparatus and it has special relation to controller handles embodying latching or notching devices.

One object of our invention is to provide a controller handle comprising a latching member that is movable in a plurality of transversely related directions; that is, the latching member proper is given an initial translatory and a final rotative movement whereby it is finally positioned out of alinement with the biasing spring.

Viewed from another angle, it is the object of our invention to provide a latching memher which is adapted to engage a plurality of notches in a notching bar corresponding to successive controller positions, wherein the latching member is automatically biased out of alinement with the actuating spring, or, in other words, is cocked between notches to ensure immediate insertion into the next succeeding notch, thereby absolutely preventing the operator from skipping one or more notches, which has occurred in connection with previous controller handles of this type.

Our invention may best be understood. by reference ,to the accompanying drawing, wherein- Figure 1 is a plan view of a controller handle and the associated notching bar that are constructed in accordance with our pres ent invention;

Fig. 2 is a view, in longitudinal section, of the controller handle shown in Fig. 1;

Fig. 3 and Fig. 4 are enlarged views, in section, taken along the lines III-{II and IV-IV of Fig. 1 and Fig. 5 to Fig. 9, inclusive, are detail views, still further enlarged, of certain portions of the apparatus shown in the previous figures.

Referring to the drawing, the structure here shown comprises a controller handle 1 having an apertured hub 2 which fits over a control drum shaft '3 and is preferably rigidly secured thereto by means of a plu rality of cotter pins 4 or the like, the handle 1 further comprising a suitably chambered main body portion or shank 5, a hollow cylindrical end portion 6 for containing certain working parts to be described, and a grip or thumb-lever 7 that is adapted to be grasped-by the operator and pressed towards the end portion 6 of the handle, in accord ance with a familiar practice.

The top cover member (not shown) of the controller has mounted upon it a curved guide or notching bar 8 which is provided with a plurality of notches 9 respectively corresponding to the various controller positions, as will be understood.

Inasmuch as our present invention relates to one particular portion of the controller handle, it is not deemed necessary to illustrate or describe any portion of the con troller proper other than the notching bar 8. For a further exposition of the controller handle and the associated parts of the con tro'ller, reference may be had to a co-pending application of Arthur J. Hall and Paul L. Mardis, Serial No. 311,025, filed July 15, 1919. Y

The intermediate section of the controller handle 1 is provided with a platform or shelf member 12 (shown in detail in Fig. 5 and Fig. 6) which is secured to the side walls of the handle by means of a plurality of screws 12a for supporting and permitting sliding movement of a latching device 13, shown in detail in Figs. 7, 8 and 9. The latching device 13 comprises a narrow ridge or finger 14 that operates within a slot 15 in the upper face of the handle 1, the notch 15 being provided with beveled or chamfered end portions 16 and 17 as clearly illustrated in' Fig. 1, whereby the latching finger 14 may be given a limiteddegr ee of rotative movement.

' The latching device 13ffurther comprises a main block or body member 19 having a curved laterally extending notch or groove 18 through which a rivet or pin 20 vertically extends.

The'latching block 19 is adaptedto slide along the finished upper surface of the shelf 12 to cause the latching finger ltto enter and to recede from the notches 9 in the notching bar 8. This movement is effected through the agency of a rod 22 which is hooked around the rivet or pin 20 within the notch 18 and extends therefrom towards the right-hand end of the controller handle, that is, towards the end away from the con trol drum shaft 3. It will be noted that the rod 22 is attached eccentrically to the latching device 13, that is, out of alinement with the axis of the latching finger 14. Consequently, the device is automatically actuated to the cooked position that is shown in dotted lines, that is, a position wherein the said axis is out of alinement with the main axis of the controller handle, whenever the finger 14 is withdrawn from a notch 9.

A helical spring 23 is coiled around the rod 22, its respective ends bearing against one face of the latching block 19 and a collar that engages a shoulder or partition 24 within the handle portion 6. In this way, the spring 23 normally exerts its full pressure against the latching block 19 to bias it to the illustrated latched position. It will be observed that the latching finger 14 assumes the dotted-line position, which is out of alinement with the axis of the biasing spring 23, by being cocked or rotated until the side faces of the latching finger engage the beveled or inclined surfaces 16 and 17 of the notch 15. Such rotative movement occurs after the translatory main movement of the notching finger 14 in the direction of the axis of the spring 23 towards the notches 9 in the guide-bar 8. 1

The outer end of the rod 22 is provided with a nut or head 25 that normally engages a projection or lug 26 within the grip 7, which is pivoted to a side projection or boss on the handle portion 6, as indicated by the reference character 27.

The controller handle 1 further comprises a longitudinally slidable bar 30 which is actuated by means of a push-button 31 in the outer end of the handle portion 6, the inward movement of the pushbutton being opposed by means of a spring 33 acting between the inner end of the push-button and a partition 36 within the handle portion 6. However, this particular construction forms no part of our present invention, but is fully set forth and claimed in the above-men tioned copending application. Consequently, no further description of the structure or function thereof is deemed necessary here.

Assuming the parts of the controller handle to occupy the normal positions illustrated, the operation of our apparatus may be set forth as follows. When the operator grasps the grip 7 to cause it to engage the cylindrical end portion 6 of the controller handle, as indicated by the corresponding dotted lines, the internal lug 26 of the grip 7 is actuated away from the partition member 24, in opposition to the action of the spring 23 to force the rod 22 to its outermost position, that is, towards the extreme right when the apparatus is viewed as in Fig. 1. The movement of the rod 22 first causes the latching block 19 to undergo a movement of translation away from the particular notch 9 that is occupied. Subsequently, when the finger 14 is completely withdrawn from the notch, a rotative movement of the notching block 19 is imparted thereto by the hooked end of the rod 22 to cause the latching finger 14 to assume a position in contact with the outer periphery of the notching-bar 8 and out of alinement with the axis of the spring 23 or, in other words, to engage the beveled faces 16 and 17 of the slot 15.

In this way, when the operator next actuates the handle forwardly, the finger 14, in the cooked position at first, but later in the alined position, rides along the pcriphery of the notching-bar 8. The finger 14 is then automatically inserted within the succeeding notch, and continued movement of the handle beyond the position corresponding to the last named notch is thus preeluded.

In controller handles embodying the type of construction herein illustrated, with the exception of the provision for such cockmg finger, it was possible for the operator to withdraw the latching finger from a notch by grasping the grip 7 to cause the'rod 22 to be actuated towards the right, and, even though it was desired to stop at the next or rotative movement of the latching notch and the grip 7 was released with this object in view, the latching finger did not always enter the next notch because of the inherently slow action of the parts. However, by providing the illustrated means for permitting the cocking or rotative movement of the latching finger 14 as soon as the latching finger is withdrawn from any given notch, by grasping the grip 7, it is found that the desired insert-ion of the latching finger in the next notch is positively and reliably effected, since the finger is initially located in such a position as to slightly anticipate the movements of the control drum, and the rotative play of the finger is sufficient to permit it to enter the desired notch as the control drum reaches its desired position corresponding to the illustrated alined position of the latching finger.

In this way, a reliably operating latching device is provided, and the unintentional shipping of control notches is prevented, thus allowing the operator, without watching the controller, to perform fine or gradual control adjustments, which function is particularly desirable in the control of re generative operation of railway motors, as will be understood.

It should be noted that a single spring 23 performs the double function of a latching spring, as used in the prior art, and also of a cocking spring, in accordance with the principles of our present invention.

We do not Wish to be restricted to the specific structural details or arrangement of parts herein set forth, as various modifications thereof may be effected within the spirit and scope of our invention. We desire, therefore, that only such limitations shall be imposed as are indicated in the appended claims.

We claim as our invention:

1. Control apparatus comprising a handle member and a latching member and means for imparting translatory and rotative movement to said latching member relative to said handle member, said rotative movement being about an axis substantially at right angles to said handle.

2. The combination With a member having a plurality of notches, of a handle having a latching member normally biased to at times occupy a position corresponding to a fraction of the notch spacing in advance of the operating position of the handle relative to a given notch.

3. A controller handle comprising a slot and a latching member adapted to bodily slide and to rotatively move bodily within said slot, said rotative movement being about an axis substantially at right angles to said handle.

4. A controller handle comprising a latching member, manual actuating means therefor, and means acting between said member and said actuating means and at times in alinement with the main axis of said member for biasing said member to a position out of alinement with the biasing means.

5. A controller handle comprising a latching member, a manual grip for actuating said member, and a spring acting 'between about an axis extending transversely to said translatory movement.

7 A controller handle comprising a slot having faces spaced apart andinclined relative to the main axis of the handle and a latching member located in said slot, a manual grip for actuating said member, and a spring acting between said member and said grip for rotatively biasing said member to a position of engagement with said inclined V faces.

8. A controller handle comprising a slot, a latching member located in said slot, and means for imparting translatory movements and true rotative movements to said member about an arms extending substantially.

at right angles 'tosaid translatory movements. 1

9. In control apparatus, a latching member, and means for inherently imparting to said member movements of translation and of true rotation about an axis extending transversely to said movements of translation.

10. A controller handle comprising a slot having faces inclinedrelative to the main axis of the handle and a latching member located in said slot, and means comprising a spring for imparting to said member a translatory and a rotativemovement within said slot.

11. Control handle member and a latching member capable of t-ranslatory movement and rotative movement with respect to said handle member,said rotative movement being of a relatively short radius and about an axis extending transversely to said translato-ry movement.

12. Control apparatus comprising a handle member, a notched guide member, and a latching member capable of translatory movement into and out of the notches, said latching member having an axisof rotation located near said guide member and extending substantially at right angles to said translatory movement.

In testimony whereof, We have hereunto subscribed our names this 15th day of June, 1920,

ALEXANDER MoIVER.

PAUL L. MARDIS.

apparatus comprising a 

